Ice wall among the flames
by Tsukiria
Summary: He held the element of fire, so how was it possible that he could be so cold? But one day, it'll change, due to a girl with her trademark smile in place...N x M Why won't you smile?


His raven hair, black as the night, swayed gently, eerily, in the breeze.

His skin,a darker colour than the others, looked as though he had been out in the Sun for too long, or…

_Too close to fire._

His icy personality froze and bit the people around him harshly, isolating himself from them; they from him, such that the resemblance between him and a finely made porcelain doll was uncanny. Such an exquisite masterpiece, and yet…

_So cold to the touch. _

_His element was fire…so how could it be…that he was so cold?_

What was the most striking about him, however, would be his eyes.

Unfeeling orbs, so cold and void of all emotion, burned crimson. They reflected, not only a shade of brilliant scarlet, but also of coldness and…

_A past filled with sorrow and regret._

He was weak, he knew it, and…

_He hated it...the existence of that fact._

Detested it, loathed it, despised it…He wanted so much to protect those he cherished, those so important to him, and he knew, that the key to their safety would be…

_Their ignorance of him._

And thus, with the cruel and angst truth writhing itself, etching itself, driving itself, like a lance into his heart…

_The ice wall was built.

* * *

_

Baby pink petals fell from the tree standing tall, landing gracefully, lightly, softly, onto the grassy field stretching out to the far beyond below her feet.

That was her name:

_Sakura…Mikan Sakura._

She shone with perpetual happiness, joy, bliss. She beamed with radiance that was oh so bright and undaunting. And then, her cherry lips pulled up into a sweet smile that would brighten anyone's day.

_A smile…_

She was the mirror image of him, his exact opposite. A violent clash between warmth, and frost. A violent clash between fire, and ice. And…

_Their meeting cast their fate into stone._

He tried, oh yes he did, to treat her as how he had treated others, but, like how her Alice reacted to his flames, it had simply bounced off her. If anything, it had only succeeding in making her more determined.

She, with her trademark grin in place, offered to be his friend, and he had flatly refused. Yet slowly, in his subconsciousness, he had gradually, slowly, yes, but surely, accepted, and was reaching out to that inviting hand she had cast towards him.

One could see that the icy wall he had built about his soul still stood high and mighty, still stood as intimidating, still stood as formidably… Yet, if one looked very carefully, he (or she) could see web-like patterns forming by the second on that crystal wall.

_The ice wall…was cracking.

* * *

_

She had initiated their perplexing relationship, and in return, he had singled her out of the crowd. Before she came, he had never noticed a girl like he had noticed her. Sure, it was in a form of teasing, of taunting, of mockery…

But since when did Natsume Hyuuga do all that?

Then, one day, while he was, as per usual, at his usual spot under the tree reading a comic book, she came, and timidly asked:

"Why won't you smile?"

Her auburn eyes held his shocked gaze captive.

"You know, to have fun all the way when you want to have fun, to let off some steam when you're feeling mad, to smile when you're feeling happy… and…

_To cry_…when you're feeling down, and don't hold back, so you can smile, as brightly as before…Emotions aren't your weakness, on the contrary, their your strength…so…"

Her gaze prodded him nervously as she clasped her hands around his.

"Please?"

_Smile…for me…_

He had always wanted someone to say that to him…And he couldn't help it…

_He smiled._

At the spot where the magnificent ice wall once stood, now lay a puddle of glistening, crystalline liquid.

_The ice wall within him…no longer existed._

And among the magnificent glowing embers of his flames, he smiled softly, along side with her.

END –

* * *

A/N: My first Gakuen Alice fic…::nervous:: My friend introduced the anime to me and I found it kinda interesting and I was really itching to write this, so…well…yeah…::frowns:: I'd appreciate it if you folks review, this being my first fic and all… 


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